My Goal For Clients

Your vision will become clear only when you look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.

— Carl Jung

Disputes and difficult conversations — with family, colleagues and clients — are inevitable. But the stress and damage associated with them are not.

My goal is to help people develop the clarity, confidence and skill to resolve conflict and interact with one another more effectively. Then you can achieve your goals — for yourself, for your family, and for your organization.

Under stress we think less clearly and our perspective narrows, cutting us off from the information and insight we need to succeed.

Conflict can make us feel feel less powerful: uncertain how to best achieve our goals, we feel threatened and experience uncomfortable emotions like fear, anger, and shame. Under these circumstances, we are more likely to act impulsively, and do more harm than good, or to avoid problems altogether and not act at all.

Both of those approaches to conflict can be costly. There is an alternative approach. Anyone can learn it.

I founded Reflective Mediation to help you find a better way, one that increases the likelihood that you’ll find the best solutions and strengthen critical relationships in the process.

“Embodied” Mediation and Conflict Coaching

At Reflective Mediation we take dispute resolution one step beyond standard practice by offering a holistic approach. In addition to the excellent strategies used by other ADR professionals, we also include mindfulness practice for clients who are interested in addressing more long range goals for managing conflict and stress.

Recent research in neurology provides compelling evidence that mindfulness practices, such as meditation, guided imagery, breath-work and yoga, have a profound calming effect on the nervous system. (check Stress Reduction and Mindfulness under the “Resources” Tab) These practices not only reduce stress symptoms in the body, but help bring about greater emotional calm. Reduced stress enhances clear thinking and leads to more balanced decision-making.

Clients who wish to train in these stress reduction practices will, in essence, be “embodying” the dispute resolution process. They are learning to balance opposing tensions in the body as a way to reduce stress and balance the opposing tensions in their relations with other people.

Reflective Mediation does not seek to eliminate physical stress or interpersonal tension, but to manage difficult energy and channel it into growth.